Fake Korean Beef

[Anchor Lead]

The authorities have cracked down on Korean beef specialty restaurants that had lied that inferior quality meat was high-quality Korean beef Hanwoo, along with butcher shops that had sold imported beef disguised as Hanwoo. An average of about 190 tons of beef are confiscated annually, but the penalties are woefully inadequate, a fine of only 50,000 won in some cases, emboldening the offenders to keep violating the country of origin rule.

[Pkg]

Agricultural product quality inspectors check the beef at a restaurant specializing in Hanwoo or Korean beef. The rib eye in their refrigerator is marked as beef cattle, but it is written as Hanwoo rib eye on the menu. The restaurant sold it for 20,000 won per 100 grams, when the inferior cattle meat actually goes for 8,000 won for 100 grams. This butcher shop was raided for violating the country of origin rule. An employee of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service pretends to be a customer and orders Hanwoo.

[Soundbite] (Customer) : "That's Hanwoo meat, right? (Yes)."

A DNA test reveals the beef is an import. This butcher shop made illegal profit by selling American rib eye as Hanwoo bulgogi meat at a 50% higher price. Another butcher shop sold Grade 2 Hanwoo as Grade 1+. This butcher was caught five times since 2014 for violating the country of origin law, but only paid fines of one million won and sometimes as little as just 50,000 won. Butchers or restaurants are slapped with small penalties, which is why they continue to lie about the country of origin.

[Soundbite] Kang Byeong-jo(Gyeongnam Office, National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service) : "Because the profits are greater than the fines, they keep committing the same violation."

In the past five years, there's been an annual average of about 580 cases, amounting to some 190 tons of beef, where the product was falsely marked or did not have its country of origin indicated at all.